Universal Pictures and Focus Features are pushing the release date of “Fifty Shades of Grey” back by six months after swapping leading men, the studio said Tuesday.
The S&M tinged movie, originally scheduled to be released on August 1, 2014, will now be a very dirty Valentine’s Day present to the world. It will now debut on February 13, 2015.
“Fifty Shades of Grey” will now square off against “The Longest Ride,” an adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks romantic novel, and “SpongeBob Squarepants 2,” which one hopes will attract a very different demographic.
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Last month, “Fifty Shades of Grey” was dealt a setback when its original star Charlie Hunnam departed the project, citing scheduling difficulties with his hit show “Sons of Anarchy.” He was eventually replaced by Irish model and actor Jamie Dornan.
Dakota Johnson stars as the object of his affection and the cohort in a series of elaborate domination fantasies. Sam Taylor-Johnson (“Nowhere Boy”) is directing “Fifty Shades of Grey” for Universal and Focus. Mike De Luca and Dana Brunetti are producing the movie.
Universal also announced that it will move the release date of its James Brown biopic, “Get on Up,” from October 17, 2014 to “Fifty Shades of Grey”s’ old release slot in August. Its vampire origins story “Dracula Untold” with Dominic Cooper will also shift from October 3, 2014 to “Get on Up”s’ old opening date.